This Award Letter Comparison Tool helps you compare and contrast the
financial aid packages from the colleges that have admitted
you. In particular, it highlights differences in the cost of attending
each school. It also provides an at-a-glance comparison of other
characteristics that may affect the student's choice of college.

Please use annual figures when completing this form.

Please supply as
much information as possible. If you do not have some information,
just leave the corresponding input field blank.
You will find it helpful to have your award letters in front of you
when you are completing this form. Not all of this information will be
available on every award letter, as some colleges include unsubsidized
Stafford Loans, PLUS loans and private education loans on the award
letter, and some do not. This tool distinguishes between the different
types of aid, whether included in the financial aid package or not, to
make an apples-to-apples comparison possible.

Try to use figures that are as close as possible to your actual
costs. For example, if one college has a figure for textbooks or
travel that seems low, substitute a more accurate estimate. (Note that
travel costs will vary from college to college depending on the
distance from home to school.) Likewise, specify the cost of the
specific housing and meal plan options you would choose at each
college.

Figure for student health insurance should be included only
if the student is not covered under an existing health insurance plan,
such as a parent or spouse's health insurance plan.

The college characteristics are to some extent ad hoc, allowing you to
assign your own meaning to the characteristics. Where a specific
meaning is intended, clicking on the characteristic name will yield a
popup window that provides an explanation of the possible values.

Please choose the three characteristics that are most
important to you. If all of your schools are the same for these
characteristics, pick the characteristics that differentiate the
schools the most. You can also play "what if" games, seeing how the
evaluation changes depending on whether you focus on academic quality
or the educational environment.